Sangha member Wes Borden speaks on #23 from the Mumonkan collection of koans. In this story, the newly-designated sixth patriarch of Zen, Huineng, flees to the mountains and is pursued by a senior student of the monastery. Recorded on January 28, 2018.

Dr. David Levy is a Professor in the Information School at University of Washington and author of Mindful Tech: How to Bring Balance to our Digital Lives. He speaks at the Zen Center on January 21, 2018.

Chon Mun Sunim grew up in communist Poland where he got interested in Buddhism. When he was 20 years old he met Zen Master Seung Sahn and became his student. In April 2002 he received inga (the authorization to teach Zen) from Zen Master Seung Sahn and moved to Seattle to practice and help in the Zen Centers in Pacific Northwest.

Genko Kathy Blackman, who is trained in both the Rinzai Zen and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, is a frequent guest speaker at the Zen Center. She gave this talk on clarity and confusion on December 31, 2017.

There is a dream-like quality to our lives that isn’t evident until we wake up to it. Zen practice can help us see through some of the persistent illusions that skew our view of others and ourselves. Koshin speaks at the Zen Center on December 10, 2017.

Nomon Tim Burnett has been a student of Zoketsu Norman Fischer since 1987 when he was a resident at San Francisco Zen Center’s Green Gulch Farm. After sitting practice periods at Green Gulch and Tassajara Zen Monastery, Tim helped found the Bellingham Zen Practice Group in 1991. He is the Guiding Teacher of Red Cedar Zen Community, and the Executive Director of Mindfulness Northwest. He gave this talk at the Puget Sound Zen Center on December 3, 2017.

Buddhist compassion arises as a response to suffering – our own and others. A mature response includes both self-knowledge and wisdom born of experience. Koshin Chris Cain speaks at the Zen Center August 27, 2017.

The ten Oxherding Pictures are an ancient guide to Zen practice, leading us through stages of development. The 10th picture is titled “Returning to the Market with Bliss Bestowing Hands,” and represents the last step of practice. Koshin Cain speaks at the Zen Center, August 20, 2017.

Peggy Rowe shares poetry and insight from her teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, July 30, 2017 at the Zen Center. Peggy has her Doctorate in Adult Education and a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. She has also studied and practiced with many wise Native American elders. As a teacher, she blends the four-fold path with her Buddhist practice. Peggy became a lay minister in 1994 and an ordained Dharma teacher in 2000. She has joined Thich Nhat Hanh in international exchanges through the world and served as staff for retreats in USA.

In Zen practice we grow through recognizing, not avoiding the painful parts of our lives. Leonard Cohen’s work helps illuminate this important aspect of Zen practice. Koshin Cain speaks at the Zen Center on July 23, 2017.

Alex Echevarria is a retired teacher of history and philosophy. In 2007 he was honored by the US-Japan Foundation as the Outstanding Japanese Humanities teacher in the United States. Alex has lived and traveled extensively through Japan and China, and his artwork is influenced by these aesthetics. He moved to Vashon Island in 2013, where he and his wife began WabiSabi Studios.

This talk is called “Shadows of Grass” and focuses on the Jizō-san, a Buddhist bodhisattva (saint). The Jizō is known for assisting women in childbirth, guiding travelers, and watching over children to protect them from harm. However, he is most known in East Asia for saving lost children from the underworld and consoling grieving parents.